September 3 2007

Fossett is seen taking off at around 9am local time from a private airstrip on the Hilton Ranch south of Smith Valley, Nevada, in a single-engine Citabria Super Decathlon heading south.

September 4

Rescuers begin searching hundreds of square miles of rugged terrain in western Nevada for the adventurer after a friend reports him missing. Sir Richard Branson says he feels confident of hearing good news soon, but adds: "If the worst comes to worst ... Steve's lived his life to the full, and he hasn't wasted a minute of his life".

September 10

The search for the millionaire adventurer enters its second week as a series of false sightings frustrate rescue teams. Search parties have spotted the wreckage of at least eight other planes lost for years in and around the rugged mountains of western Nevada.

September 11

Authorities warn that untrained volunteers who join the search for Fossett may be risking their own lives. A private search effort is being driven in part by the hotel magnate Barron Hilton, who has opened the mile-long airstrip at his Flying M Ranch - the same runway Fossett took off from - to search planes and helicopters.

October 15

Branson says he has "pretty well given up hope" that his friend will be found alive. He tells NBC's Today Show: "I think the chances are that he's no longer with us."

February 15 2008

A judge at Cook county circuit court, Illinois, says there is "sufficient evidence" to declare Fossett dead after hearing from his wife, Peggy, a family friend and a search-and-rescue expert.

May 2

Officials say that the governor of Nevada intends to ask Fossett's widow to help pay the $687,000 (£343,500) bill for the unsuccessful search for the adventurer. A spokesman for the office of the governor, Jim Gibbons, adds that any contribution from Peggy Fossett or her family would be voluntary.

July 27

Lieutenant Colonel Cynthia Ryan of the US Civil Air Patrol suggests Fossett may have faked his own death due to personal or business problems. A lawyer for Peggy Fossett later dismisses the claims.

October 1

A hiker gives police three identification cards with Fossett's name and about £558 in cash which he says he found tangled in a bush just west of the town of Mammoth Lakes, in eastern California's Inyo national forest.

October 2:

Search teams in California looking for Fossett's remains say there has been a sighting of what appears to be wreckage.